By John Lohn
BEIJING, China, August 9. HEADING into the week, Larsen Jensen figured to have his best chance at a gold medal in the 1500 freestyle, an event in which he won the silver medal in Athens four years ago. But, Jensen also must be considered a serious gold-medal contender in the 400 freestyle, his secondary discipline.
En route to an American record, Jensen topped qualifying in the 400 free with a time of 3:43.10. That effort broke Jensen's American record of 3:43.53, set at last month's United States Olympic Trials. Jensen was strong throughout and looks to have a performance in the 3:42-range in his arsenal for the final.
"I hope for the best for tomorrow. I'm going to have a double shot espresso tomorrow morning and I'll be ready," Jensen told meet organizers.
China's Zhang Lin, a 21-year-old rising star on the distance scene, bested the field in the third heat, his winning time of 3:43.32 good for an Asian record. Zhang qualified second for the championship final and held off Korea's Tae Hwan Park at the wall, as Park was timed in 3:43.35. Park has been stating for months his intentions of breaking Ian Thorpe's world record of 3:40.08. Grabbing the fourth position was Russia's Nikita Lobintsev (3:43.45).
One of the leading storylines of these Olympic Games is Grant Hackett's quest for a third consecutive title in the 1500 freestyle. Well, it could be Hackett's time to win his first gold medal in the 400 free, although there is some work to be done. The reigning Olympic silver medalist in the eight-lap freestyle, Hackett qualified fifth for the final in 3:44.03, just ahead of American Peter Vanderkaay's 3:44.22.
"I knew it would be quick but not that quick," Hackett told meet organizers.
Grabbing the seventh and eighth spots for the championship final were Tunisia's Ous Mellouli (3:44.54) and Russian Yuri Prilukov (3:44.82).
